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BeyondBlue Tradies National Health Month
  • replies: 0

Hi everyone, August is Tradies National Health Month, to highlight the importance of health and safety among Australia’s trade workers. Mental health and wellbeing is crucial to the safety of anyone in the mining or construction industries, so Beyond... View more

Hi everyone, August is Tradies National Health Month, to highlight the importance of health and safety among Australia’s trade workers. Mental health and wellbeing is crucial to the safety of anyone in the mining or construction industries, so Beyond Blue is hosting a special free webinar for our tradie community on Tuesday 12 August at 4.30pm which you can register for here. We know that Tradies can face unique stressors, with a culture of toughness and difficult job demands that can impact personal time and self-care. It can also be tough for partners and family members who aren’t sure how to support someone in a trade who may be showing signs that their mental health isn’t at its best. If you’re unsure where to start your conversation this is the space for you. Whether you want to share your own experiences, ask questions, or simply connect with others who understand what you're going through, you're in the right place. If you're seeking additional support, here are some resources: Hope Assistance Local Tradies: Home This Is A Conversation Starter: TIACS - This is a Conversation Starter Mates in Construction: MATES - Industry Based Suicide Prevention - MATES Don’t forget - our counsellors are always here for you on 1300 22 46 36. We’ll also use this space to post some of the questions and answers from the webinar discussion. Feel free to dive in and keep the conversation going. Thank you again for joining us — we’re glad you’re here.

Just Sara A Bouquet for Pearls - share your appreciation for other members
  • replies: 715

Every now and then, members share a beautiful Pearl of Wisdom. How often do you think to yourself; "OMG that's great! I wish everyone could see this." Presenting someone with a bunch of flowers is a generous way of acknowledging their insightful word... View more

Every now and then, members share a beautiful Pearl of Wisdom. How often do you think to yourself; "OMG that's great! I wish everyone could see this." Presenting someone with a bunch of flowers is a generous way of acknowledging their insightful words. I hope this thread stays active through members giving out praise regularly to people they feel deserving, and therefore keep generosity of spirit alive within the pages of BeyondBlue Forum. My bunch of Red Roses (my choice) goes to Wishful for the following sentence; 'Personally, I see no reason to be praised in me, but I'm learning that seeing through the eyes of others can be more accurate!!' I so hear you Wishful. Just beautiful... Try to keep your leading comments short to focus on 'their' words. Choose specific flowers (or a gift if you like) to present to them. Sign off respectfully and sincerely. I hope this takes off... Spreading the love...Sara

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wallabyjack awake and conscious, but feel like 'soul' has left body? anyone?
  • replies: 1

over the last 10 years I have had random, occasional bouts where I suddenly feel like I am still looking through my eyes, I can feel, hear and speak to those around me. But "I" feel like I have gone somewhere else and am trapped there. (And its not n... View more

over the last 10 years I have had random, occasional bouts where I suddenly feel like I am still looking through my eyes, I can feel, hear and speak to those around me. But "I" feel like I have gone somewhere else and am trapped there. (And its not necessarily a nice place). Does this feeling have a name? It feels like I have gone to a place of "isolation and permanence" in that I am there, but my body and physical senses are still where I left them. Usually I can distract myself by reading my phone, walking etc and I come back to myself. this almost feels spiritual, but I am sure its chemical and neurological also. it does seem to coincide with periods of stress. anyone have some thoughts? cheers WJ

Hannerilana Complex trauma
  • replies: 1

Hi i have gone through complex trauma . I am having trouble finding good support for trauma not just PTSD but complex trauma. What hope is there for complex trauma survivors? Especially young people. I have had multiple traumas basic childhood parent... View more

Hi i have gone through complex trauma . I am having trouble finding good support for trauma not just PTSD but complex trauma. What hope is there for complex trauma survivors? Especially young people. I have had multiple traumas basic childhood parental trauma, life trauma and medical traumatic experiences. Does anyone have experience in this? How do you live? I currently live with parents however this is re traumatising and want to find adequate accommodation. It is hard to find tailored case workers who deal with complex issues. I don’t want to go to crisis accommodation at all. Not working is having a harmful effect having a difficult mother, taking medicine I don’t want to take. Please advise

FxZIONZ Snacky Foods for Lack of Appetite
  • replies: 5

Hey All, Just seeing if anyone has suggestions on snacky foods high in essential nutrients. With my anxiety i find i have a lack of appetite. I am trying to buy foods which are simple to make. ie i just grab it from the fridge and eat. I am looking f... View more

Hey All, Just seeing if anyone has suggestions on snacky foods high in essential nutrients. With my anxiety i find i have a lack of appetite. I am trying to buy foods which are simple to make. ie i just grab it from the fridge and eat. I am looking for foods which are high in the more important nutrients that we need. I try to have an up and go or a twist cap yoghurt in the fridge so i can get a decent intake of something healthy. I also find that they satisfy my hunger. Until i get the motivation and energy to cook, what are some foods that are easy, or even meals or plans etc. people have tried that are easy when you dont have the mental energy and motivation to cook or sometimes make food. I find i opt for takeaways or uber eats and just wanting to save a bit of money but still get food in me. Thanks For the Help!

The_Feefenator Hello, I'm Fiona :)
  • replies: 3

Hi, my name is Fiona. 54yr old female with lifelong anxiety and depression issues. I joined a face-to-face support group when I was 40, run by a therapist who practices Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). I was part of this group for six years, ... View more

Hi, my name is Fiona. 54yr old female with lifelong anxiety and depression issues. I joined a face-to-face support group when I was 40, run by a therapist who practices Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). I was part of this group for six years, and found it extremely helpful. Mindfulness meditation has also provided me with some relief from my mental health issues. My partner and I have recently moved from Sydney to the beautiful far south coast of NSW, where we are building a new house. I spent 30+ years in a toxic and controlling work relationship, which I'm sure has had a significant impact on my mental health. Now that I am free from that relationship, I am experiencing some feelings of anger and resentment (unusual for me, as in the past I usually internalised my negative emotions towards myself). So now, on paper, everything in my life should be wonderful, but I feel I still have a lot of work ahead of me to process these new feelings. Looking forward to discussing these and other issues with members of the forum. Fiona

C-Star-4 Self Help Textbooks
  • replies: 2

Hello, I personally struggle with mental illness, in particular psychosis and DID, and the depressions pretty bad too although my diagnosis is schizophrenia, these symptoms however are subsiding. At the moment I'm just resting but I thought I'd share... View more

Hello, I personally struggle with mental illness, in particular psychosis and DID, and the depressions pretty bad too although my diagnosis is schizophrenia, these symptoms however are subsiding. At the moment I'm just resting but I thought I'd share a resource if you have to work, living the daily grind, to take care of yourself and your loved one's... ...self help books really do assist us to maintain inner drive and self confidence when at times it feels like we really do want to give up and just take our meds and sleep and cry... … now that being said self help books are not a solution to our problems, but are a useful aid in recovery. The following website contains a small library of some of the best self help books of the last 100 years. I hope this resource will help you a little bit in your recovery... selfhelp.rf.gd

SeeTheSunshine The Very Unglamorous side of Anorexia Recovery
  • replies: 4

Hi all, it's been a long road but i'm so so so much better than I have been in terms of anxiety/depression/anorexia. I guess the hardest part now is that the disorder affected all the muscles in my body (including my bladder- TMI) and part of recover... View more

Hi all, it's been a long road but i'm so so so much better than I have been in terms of anxiety/depression/anorexia. I guess the hardest part now is that the disorder affected all the muscles in my body (including my bladder- TMI) and part of recovery for me means 24/7 liquid calories going in through a tube in my nose (to stomach)....as you can imagine litres of this with a very weak bladder that gives me no warning, doesn't lead to pleasant situations. I'm told it will reverse with good nutrition and that it is a lot more common in this disorder than anyone admits to. Breaking point for me was wetting myself in an elevator (not just a little bit like everyday) but completely because I just couldn't hold on. Naturally I don't want to be away from right next to a bathroom and i'm now stuck using pads/kids pullups especially overnight when the feed keeps going in but my bladder can't hold it. This has actually worsened during recovery/re-feeding and for professionals it is a reversible non-issue (which is true)..... for me though it feels like a huge thing wetting my pants numerous times a day because I can't hold on more than 30seconds. Extremely limited in clothing choice when wearing protection and just feel like dignity has been stripped away.....it is a catch22 though because I need all this extra fluid/feed to fix the problem, its just getting by in the mean time and dealing with the associated social isolation. Not sure if anyone has experienced anything like this before?

Kiki7 Insomnia & full time work
  • replies: 2

Hi guys, Ive recently had a relapse with my anxiety and it has caused insomnia which is ruining my day to say life to function.. I feel as though I’m going to be seen as a failure if I have to leave my job to look after myself. I’m getting about 3. H... View more

Hi guys, Ive recently had a relapse with my anxiety and it has caused insomnia which is ruining my day to say life to function.. I feel as though I’m going to be seen as a failure if I have to leave my job to look after myself. I’m getting about 3. Hours sleep a night ( with taking medication) Im just wondering if anyone has experienced really bad insomnia with full time work. My psychologist suggests I go to work regardless how much sleep I get and just keep going.. Please help me

DannyG how to let go - ideas? resources?
  • replies: 11

hi everybody i'm not sure if i am posting this in the right section? does anybody have any advice of resources they have found helpful in letting go of something? i have lost something i am not going to get back and i am stuck I cannot get past it. m... View more

hi everybody i'm not sure if i am posting this in the right section? does anybody have any advice of resources they have found helpful in letting go of something? i have lost something i am not going to get back and i am stuck I cannot get past it. my psych says i am stuck in the grief (?) phase? i have been trying guided meditations for letting go on you tube but im not feeling any better? thanks everyone

white knight "Grow a thick skin"
  • replies: 2

Grow a thick skin, take it as- water off a ducks back, don't worry about it, get over it... are all comments we have endured. Why do people say these things and are the justified? As humans we perceive everything from our own perspective, our own eye... View more

Grow a thick skin, take it as- water off a ducks back, don't worry about it, get over it... are all comments we have endured. Why do people say these things and are the justified? As humans we perceive everything from our own perspective, our own eyes and other senses. That means we can never se things 100% from anothers viewpoint- ever! Some can possess empathy of a wide range that enables them to get some idea what the other is feeling but not all people have that ability, they are in fact, cold in comparison. As part of expression the ones that cannot project themselves to know what it is like to hold a mental illness they cannot understand a/ why we behave the way we do b/ why we cannot change it straight away. That might well be naïve with high expectation (from our viewpoint) but to them they are merely giving expression. What they don't realise is that our inability to act like them is ingrown, part of our illness or personality which, makes their demands quite unfair. In another thread I wrote (topic: so what are their mental illnesses) I pointed out that some seemingly "normal" people can have issues like- bullying, gambling, drug addiction, cruelty tendencies, manipulation, gaslighting and so on but they survive ok in society under the umbrella of "normality" when in actual fact their issues are quite serious yet they aren't approached to overcome their flaws. Why are we? It comes down to a few things, one is we often put ourselves out there as someone that is more obviously flaws (after all we have a label eg bipolar, depressed, anxious) so that is misinterpreted as an opportunity to give advice (rather than support). What is most important here is that your mental illness is a part of you. When people give unwanted advice like "grow a thick skin" they are indeed expecting you have that ability when it is highly unlikely you don't and by the way- you have a right to be yourself. I've developed a defence with this. "You need to grow a thicker skin" My reply "like you need to stop smoking"? (or stop playing psychiatrist, or stop being judgmental etc) . That might seem over reactive but I've learned, if you keep taking these comment without recourse- you pay a price- the comments keep coming. This is also mentioned in the thread (topic: wit, the only answer to torment). Feel free to put those threads in the search bar. Mental well being includes a broad range of remedies we can apply to our daily lives. Feel free to comment. TonyWK

white knight Acceptance, a golden goal
  • replies: 1

Having goals allows us to focus on our ambitions. Every time our mind targets such dreams its one moment less of preoccupation with our difficulties. So why have I singled out "acceptance"? You don't use extreme force to learn acceptance. You mould i... View more

Having goals allows us to focus on our ambitions. Every time our mind targets such dreams its one moment less of preoccupation with our difficulties. So why have I singled out "acceptance"? You don't use extreme force to learn acceptance. You mould it, caress it, respect it, be in awe if it..so it eventually becomes part of you! So think about the things that a good dose of acceptance could be applied to. Examples- Life- that the passing of a person as is the birth of a human being is part of life. Having a mental illness be it lifelong or short term Moods, extreme behaviour, personality...etc Employment struggles Relationships Acceptance covers as many topics as positivity. Being positive transforms a negative thinker into a world beater in everything you connect with. A few examples. Fear of death. Can you see the opposites of that fear to accepting that life has that ultimate end. Accepting that would put the matter at rest except in times of a loved ones passing. Unemployment. You've finished uni and that magical job of high salary hasn't materialised. All those years of study and and sacrifices continue. To accept that no matter how you apply yourself to seeking work, if you weren't to find a job.. then your best is sufficient in terms of effort. What I'm trying to explain here is that when we approach hurdles in our lives we have a challenge and such challenges will always come and go...all your life. There won't be a long period of time without a speed bump. Do we fall down in despair or do we "take it in our stride"? It is your choice but that choice, to accept the rocky road will always be there, isn't one some of us can naturally pick. I've accepted the following- I have a mental illness with medication for the rest of my life. It took me about 5-7 years to " get there". Now its no big deal. That's Tony, me, the way I am. Quirks like intolerance to traffic, crowds, parking meters, exaggeration and manipulation...yep that's me. If you study other people and quiz them, they have their quirks also. It may be a fine line between my quirkiness needing medication and their individuality within common boundaries of what we see as normal but it would be far great a battle for me if I didn't accept such a position. Acceptance of many facets of your life gives you calm, prevents ongoing worry and self inflicted trauma. The end result is being pleased your mind is at rest. I had a bad day Saturday. I accepted that. It happens. Tony WK